[Salvos] 764. Troubleshooting...

[Salvos] 764. Troubleshooting...

764. Troubleshooting...

***

[Soul Of The Primordial Demon]... was not an intuitive Skill name, to say the least. I didn’t know what it did. But based on its name alone, it was related to Primordial Demons somehow— probably because I managed to actually kill one.

According to my dad, Primordial Demons were hard to kill. And based on my experience fighting Jofis the Winged Horror, who was a former Primordial Demon who had devolved back into a Primeval Demon, this was very much true. But I had managed to kill Chordus. Even though she wasn’t technically a real Primordial Demon… she very much was one when she died too.

“Maybe this is a Grand Skill that lets me kill Primordial Demons for good!”

I thought as I snapped an excited finger.

“That’s what it means— I will be able to destroy the soul of a Primordial Demon when I kill them!”

But then I paused as I rubbed my chin.

“...no, that’s not right. Because then it would be called, like, ‘[Primordial Demon Soul Destroyer]’, right?”

Sure, not all Skill names were exactly as straightforward as that. But I still felt like this wasn’t right— because if killing a single Primordial Demon permanently just one time granted this Grand Skill, then beings like the Devil, the Beast, and even the Demon King, who all had definitely killed plenty of Primordial Demons before, would never need to struggle when killing another Primordial Demon.

But as I’d seen during the battle between the Beast and [The Great Agarus], it was not easy even for the so-called Strongest Being in the Nexeus to permanently put down another Primordial Demon. 

So I knew that it would be a bit too improbable for me to have such a convenient Grand Skill that neither my dad or the Beast had. 

“Maybe I should test it out. See what it is for myself. But…”

I glanced back, seeing the army of Demons gathered in the cave behind me. 

“I can’t test it here. I may accidentally hurt someone.”

So I opened up a rift to my pocket space as I waved at Bertrugil who was just a hundred feet or so away from me, still chatting with Sicar. 

“Hey, if Haec asks where I went, tell him not to worry— I’ll be right back!”

Bertrugil just nodded at me as he continued to pat Sicar on the back, comforting the former Deathsquad Hunter.

And as I waved goodbye at them, I excitedly bounced through the rift. Because not only was I going to figure out what [Soul Of The Primordial Demon] did, I would be able to see what my newly-maxed [The World Of My Mind] as well!

I stepped through the portal, spreading my arms wide as I greeted my pocket space.

“I’m back! Now, show me what you’ve become!”

I shouted, and my voice echoed around me. A cool breeze washed over me as I swept my gaze over [The World Of My Mind]. I had expected the pocket space to be larger than before— to span a hundred miles across, just like Hartia’s pocket space. Maybe even more… just so I could rub it in his face.

And I was right.

My pocket space expanded as far as I could see, the terrain was different now. The same rolling hills and lush forests surrounded me from before, but beyond the previous dimensions of my world were even more different biomes. There was a small ocean that spread out in one direction, right next to a jungle of gigantic trees. There was a desert, ravines, caves, and there was even a small mountain range.

I took all this in with a wide grin on my face, before I paused when I saw a small section of [The World Of My Mind] that was… different.

Distorted.

I pursed my lips as I had an idea of what it was. But still, I wouldn’t know for sure until I explored it. So I spread my wings wide and soared in the direction of the distortion. As I expected, it was a section of my world that was riddled with the corruption.

The air itself was swirling with distorted space, and chunks of the earth floated in the air— some of them even upside down. Craters filled the ground, and it almost seemed like the floor was constantly twisting and turning around me, all the while wisping with iridescent flakes of light. I placed my hands on my hips as I saw this scene.

“Now, why is this here—”

I started as I looked over the section of distorted world, but then I froze when my gaze landed at a piece of the corruption that was moving towards me.

For a moment, I thought that it was just another chunk of corrupted world that was floating around, and I was just imagining its approach. But then I narrowed my eyes, and I knew it was coming straight for me. I immediately used [Identification] on it as I just stared.

And the results of my [Identification] made me blink.

[-̶̧̛̻͕̹̩̖͕̑̈́̂͗̾͊̓͌̀͗́͝ͅ-̵̖͎͖̤̌̇̿̓̿̌́̆͛͆͘͝-̵̧̣̩͚̗͕̤͙͉̱͕͎͔̟͐̑͊͌ͅ-̶̻͕̲͓͈̼̥̰̘͔͛̍̊̒̉̈́̐̂̋̕͝  Boulder - Lvl.-̶̧̛̻͕̹̩̖͕̑̈́̂͗̾͊̓͌̀͗́͝ͅ-̵̖͎͖̤̌̇̿̓̿̌́̆͛͆͘͝-̵̧̣̩͚̗͕̤͙͉̱͕͎͔̟͐̑͊͌ͅ-̶̻͕̲͓͈̼̥̰̘͔͛̍̊̒̉̈́̐̂̋̕͝]

“...huh.”

It was a Corrupted Boulder. An actual Corrupted Boulder— one that moved with its own autonomy, rather than being willed to move by me. Like the corruption that existed and was destroying the Nexeus. Sure, it was one of the weakest versions of the corruption, but it was still here, and I could only stare at it uncomprehendingly, trying to process what I was seeing.

The Corrupted Boulder came to a halt before me as I nervously backed away. It was small. Maybe a dozen feet in length at most. And while I knew I could defeat it with ease, I just raised my hands placatingly, trying to reason with it.

“Um, nice corruption?”

I said with uncertainty, and the Corrupted Boulder just… floated before me, not doing anything. I blinked back at it as I tilted my head.

“Oh, it’s actually not attacking me. But why? Is it because you’re a part of [The World Of My Mind]?”

In response, the Corrupted Boulder seemed to just tilt its body back at me— copying my gesture. I tapped a finger on my chin.

“I mean, that makes sense, I guess. If you’re in here, then you’re a part of my pocket space. That’s how it worked for Hartia. Which also means… you should listen to everything I say, right?”

I said as I peered into the Corrupted Boulder. It just tilted its body in the other direction. I scratched the back of my head, before pointing at a piece of floating debris to the side.

“Go fetch!”

I wasn’t sure if this would work— I gave the command on a whim, thinking that the Corrupted Boulder would ignore me. However, to my surprise, it did as it was told, flying up to the floating debris, before bringing it back towards me.

“Woah.”

I stared at the Corrupted Boulder as it left the floating debris right before me. I held out a hand and patted the side of my new… pet?

“Good Corrupted Boulder! But wait—”

I paused, before glancing back towards the uncorrupted sections of my pocket space.

“If you leave this area, will you destroy my pocket space? Isn’t that how it works?”

I wondered aloud, and the Corrupted Boulder just gave me the same confused look as before. I pursed my lips at that.

“Um, I doubt you have any answers for me. But do you know any other corrupted… entities here? Maybe they can answer my questions?”

I asked curiously, and once again, the Corrupted Boulder tilted its body. I sighed as I lowered my head.

“I guess it’s only you, huh? And I’m not going to be getting any answers from you.”

There were so many questions in my mind right now— so much I wanted to try to figure out. But then I shook my head as I remembered that this wasn’t the reason why I had gone into [The World Of My Mind] in the first place.

“Well, I can figure this all out later. Before that, I need to figure out what [Soul Of The Primordial Demon] does.”

I drew back, raising a hand out at the Corrupted Boulder.

“You— um, I’ll think of a name for you later. But you stay, ok?”

The Corrupted Boulder just bobbed its body up and down like it was nodding. It seemed to understand me well-enough, so I decided to trust that it wasn’t going to destroy my pocket space. And I just spread my wings and flew across my pocket space, heading for an open flatland.

“I’ll be back in a minute! I just have to figure out what my new Grand Skill does!”

I flew for a few short moments, exiting the corrupted section of my pocket space, before finally arriving at an open plains. I landed and took in a deep breath, preparing myself for whatever was to come. 

“Alright, let’s hope this isn’t too difficult to figure out…”

Exhaling slowly, I outstretched my non-corrupted hand and focused deep within myself.

I wasn’t sure what I was reaching for. But I reached for it anyway— the power of my new Grand Skill. The ability that I was so excited to try out. I continued to reach and reach and reach… until I felt it.

I didn’t know what it was. But it was there. A well of… power? No— not power. But something had accumulated deep within me, and it was waiting for me to pull it out. So that was exactly what I did. I grabbed a hold for it, yanking for it like I was pulling a lever.

Then my eyes snapped open as I exclaimed.

“[Soul Of The Primordial Demon]!”

All at once, this strange accumulation of energy rushed out. Like a raging river, it made its way for the exit that I had opened up for it. A deluge that was making its way out of the palm of my hand— that felt like it could overwhelm the world entire. And that was what it did. That was what manifested in the palm of my hand. It was— 

A tiny ball of crimson flame?

Author's Notes:

What thonk?

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